In the past year youth knife, gang and gun culture has hit the headlines far too regularly with deaths of young teenagers in London becoming a regular occurrence.
Last week history was made as some of the youngest children were convicted with a manslaughter charge at the Old Bailey, after pelting Ernest Norton with stones leading to his death.
As these shocking stories hit the headlines each week, organisers of the event are asking “What can Londoners do about combating this yob culture?”
“Get Involved” says Pastor Nims Obunge, founder of The Peace Alliance and the annual London Week Of Peace.
He explains that “Peace is everybody’s business” and that “we as a community must encourage and engage with youth in order to make a stand against violence”.
In just 7 years, the Week of Peace has grown from its humble beginnings as a one borough local initiative in Haringey to become a high profile week of events involving all 33 of the capital’s boroughs that attempt to reduce violence in London.
The week of peace was launched in Haringey in September 2001 as a response to local community safety concerns. Thousands of local residents welcomed the initiative participating in a peace walk, peace concert, prayer walks around crime hotspots.
Celebrated in Haringey again in 2002 and 2003, the events attracted thousands of local people from diverse backgrounds to a range of activities such as school peace assemblies, sports events, faith and community based action.
In 2004, the London Week of Peace was launched in Southwark and was celebrated in six London Boroughs.
